1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a control method of the communication apparatus, and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In wireless communications including a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) conforming to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard series (hereinafter, referred to as a wireless LAN), there are many items to be set prior to the use thereof.
Items to be set include, for example, communication parameters necessary for performing wireless communication such as Service Set Identification (SSID) as a network identifier, an encryption method, an encryption key, an authentication method, an authentication key and so on. It is very troublesome for a user to set all these parameters manually. Thus, various manufacturers have discussed automatic setting methods to set communication parameters to wireless devices easily. These automatic setting methods automatically set communication parameters by providing communication parameters from one device to another according to a procedure and messages preset between devices to be connected.
Recently, Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry standards body, has discussed a standard technology (Wi-Fi Protected Setup: WPS) concerning a setting function of communication parameters (http://www.wi-fi.org/files/kc/20090123_Wi-Fi_Protected_Set up.pdf). The WPS specifies an automatic setting method of communication parameters in an infrastructure mode in which a station (child station) performs communication via an access point (base station).
U.S. patent No. 2010-046394 discusses an example of automatic settings of communication parameters in an ad hoc mode in which child stations directly perform communication without passing through a base station.
When communication is temporarily performed between communication devices equipped with a wireless LAN, it is effective to perform communication in the ad hoc mode. In such a case, communication parameters are shared among the communication devices by carrying out communication parameter settings discussed in U.S. Patent No. 2010-046394, so that wireless communication via an ad hoc network can be performed.
However, if communication parameters are set while one of the communication devices is connected to another network, there is a possibility that information in the other network may be leaked to devices newly connected via the ad hoc network. For example, when the device is connected to an intra-company network, leakage of confidential information in the network could become a serious issue.